Since Mom got sick I've been having panic attacks, sometimes severely. We recently moved to a new town where we know no one and are 30 minutes away from civilization. During the move, I lifted too much and gave myself an intestinal hernia, a prolapsed bladder and a hiatal hernia, I seriously wrecked myself and will need surgery. Being former military, I'm limited to using their hospital which is almost 4 hours away.

Mom is almost 84 and is on oxygen, can't walk and has a failing heart. She can only eat 1 or 2 jars of baby food a day and she seems to be declining fast. I can't leave her alone to get myself taken care of and we don't know anyone to stay with her or check in on her. I'm concerned for both of us because I can't ignore this pain. We have no other family except each other and caregivers of shut ins become shut ins themselves. It's a scary thing to go through.

I was prescribed Buspar last week and after 4 doses, I think I have severe side effects, dizziness, light headed and passing out. Each dose hits me harder. I'll talk to the doctor after the weekend. It's a local redneck clinic, good for limited services, better than nothing.

I'm trying to get through tonight, been having a panic attack that has lasted over 3 hours so far. Sweating, shaking, throwing up, diarrhea, difficulty concentrating, almost too shaky to type. Blood pressure goes over 200 and I know that isn't good. Ive lost 13 pounds in a month, now I'm 89. I was 115, all this is from stress. The doctor isn't happy but he won't prescribe the same med (clonopin) the base does. They tried me on several before they found what worked. No more emergency room visits since discovering clonopin worked and stopped the panic attacks in a reasonable amount of time. Too bad the local doc here has a wanna-be godlike personality.

My goal is to find a way to conquer anxiety on my own, without meds if possible. All the typical relaxation techniques don't work on me. The kind of anxiety I have is very intense and hard to control. I've been reading the posts and always open to trying new things.

Thank you for reading and any advice is appreciated. Best wishes to all!

Hi, I am sorry to hear about your situation. I suggest that you need to get surgery as soon as posible otherwise your anxiety won't get any better. Your body is trying to tell you, thru anxiety that you need to change and get healthy and first thing will be to get your body on good shape. No amount of meds or therapy can make that anxiety go away if your body is damaged otherwise you are just running away from your problems and not facing them. The only way to fight back anxiety and have a peace of mind is facing your fears and problems not running away. I know that your situation with your mom is tough and I am really sorry, but were there is a will there is a way, please find a way to have that surgery. Maybe a friend or a nurse can help you with your mom for a few days? I also suggest seeking therapy, cbt works great for anxiety.
I really do hope your situation gets better, please keep us informed.